Bill Walsh: A Football Life - The West Coast Offense 

You might as well include Bill Cower. Also coaches name Mike have been winners too; Shanahan, Holmgren, McCarthey, Tomlin, Ditka(when he was with Bears).

And Sean’s too..

@Councilman Les Wynan lmao

Bill O'Brien would like to challenge that statement.

Brian BILLick

the annointed one he always had the speed bag at the training facility, and loved the fact that the players would try it and couldn’t do it as well as Bill could

For real?! I didn't that. Well, he did mention Marvin Hagler in this video, so it makes sense.

I've couldn't have said that anyway better

@@maniacmasturbator2411 I’m happy y’all taught me about bill walsh more. I’m a dolphin but these stories make me wana cry how we missed the GOLDEN ERA 🌞

@@cesarcanete3402 Yeah, I didn't know that either. I think it was Mohamed Ali who said "everyone has a plan, until you get hit in the face."

The ultimate what if

Corvette06USA This guy Greg Cook was the ORIGINAL JEFF GEORGE in the '70s 6-4 220 he had the ability to throw a ball any direction he wanted.

I'm a huge football fan and I had never heard of him until watching this video, then looking him it. Definitely someone who could have been a star with a long career.

Unfortunately he had to work for lowlifes like policy and Debartolo.

Damn

Very well played.

Robert Petrea chuck Noll talked about body position too

You god damn savage you!!! Lol

Rex can’t even choose the right QB

so true.

Daniel Kelegian Exactly...People talk about finesse vs smashmouth...Well yes 49ers offense was finesse but they had tough defenses. Lott, Millen, Fred Dean, Hacksaw Reynolds among a few. Early 90's defenses were not good enough...then in 94 they got back to being elite.

yup...49ers had one of the best team defenses of the 1980's..last i checked, there's nothing "finesse" about having a great defense..

Daniel Kelegian oh you are so right my friends. I always ring my hands when all we hear about these niner teams is "WCO, WCO, WCO" but how about those defenses? They were great units. It's always that way though when a team has a Montana or a Brady. Another example of this is those great NE dynasty teams of the early 2000s. When those teams are discussed, Brady is #1 mention. But those teams won all those rings with GREAT defenses. Look at Brady's stats from that period...he didn't even throw for 4000 yds a season. Coincidentally, those were NEs most dominant teams.

For sure, but the offense made it a lot easier for them by consistently having huge leads

The more interesting part is that he didn't invent the "west coast offense". Fran Tarkenton and the Giants were running that offense in the 60's and early 70's. NFL Films even did a special on that very thing admitting this fact.

Geron Fletcher No that would be the late great Don "Air" Coryell

NIKO SAMUELS Don Coryell never won a Super Bowl. Bill Walsh was an offensive genius who designed what is now known as the West Coast Offense while as a coach in Cincinnati.

Matthew Hollie Don Coryell was STILL the greater offensive mastermind Super Bowl ring or not the statistics & his impressive coaching tree bear that out.

NIKO SAMUELS Bill Walsh was the better coach who got there 49ers to 3 Super Bowls in his tenure as coach. Don Coryell only got 114 wins, 89 losses and 1 tie (Includes Regular Season and Postseason) to his name whole leading the Cardinals to 2 division titles and the Chargers to 3 division titles and 4 playoff appearances. And all of those appearances he choked. His coaching tree included a Super Bowl winning coach in Joe Gibbs. Bill Walsh on the other hand has a solid 102-63-1 record under his belt, as well as 6 division titles, and three Super Bowls, all with the 49ers. And his coaching tree includes some Super Bowl Champions and great coaches. George Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Ray Rhodes, Mike Shannahan, Andy Reid, Brian Billick, Jon Gruden, Tony Dungy, Mike Tomlin, Sean Payton, Mike McCarthy, Gary Kubiak, Doug Pederson, they're all on Walsh's coaching tree because they are WINNERS. Walsh is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for not only the three Super Bowls and and amazing coaching tree, but also for his offensive strategy and making the West Coast Offense more than just nickel and dime football. Coryell's offense is a copy of his mentor Sid Gillman's offense. It doesn't cut it. That's why he's not in the Hall of Fame. Therefore, your argument is invalid.

Jebuiz y'har I think the 90 loss was bill parcels battling it out with George seifert. In that NFC championship game. Lawrence Taylor caused that fumble and the giants took home the gold. Great game.

The worst loss I have ever experienced in my 40 plus years as a 49er fan

@@jamesd6390 L.T. recovered the fumble. He didn't cause it. Erik Howard, the Giants' nosetackle, caused it. Madden called it the greatest play by a nosetackle that he had ever seen.

optimus2g ahhh you are correct. My apologies. LT did recover it. I had to watch it again.

Wasn’t alive for that game but the Niners loss to Seattle in NFC championship was my worst experience even more so than the Ravens super bowl.

What’s so funny?

VicInNocal exactly this era was tough

VHS GUY But still manage to win 4 Super Bowls in the 80s.

The Giants were the thorn on the Niners' side during the '80s. The Niners and Giants were the ultimate NFC rivalry during the '80s. They were like the Steelers and Raiders of the '70s. They were exact opposites who constantly battled each other in the regular season and the playoffs.

i mean it was a genius against another genius in belicheick who is also the greatest coach in his own right one mad man against another yea parcells waqs the head coach but bill belicheck designed the defense to beat him its the ultimate game of chess to masters of the craft.

@@cyrillesu Lol, the Giants seemed to become a thorn in the Patriots side in the 2000's, theyre like the party crashers

Thank you thank you. You can refer to me as your holiness the anime pope.

@@binkbonkbones3402 he wasn't talking to u idiot

Interesting. Didn't know that. Thanks for sharing.

it's amazing it took them that long to figure out how to make the game better...that said, offensive lineman were blocking with their hands for a long time, but it was rarely penalized...

But a lot of the philosophies of the WCO was incorporated well before the rules changes in 1979. It still would have been successful whether they occurred or not.

Dennis Gadulka Have you watched football the last 20 years? You can't hit unless you do it softly, oh too hard hit softer!

WCO was made before the rule changes and it was ran in Cincy with Ken Anderson and he ran it quite well. Also you can trace back to 1957 with the days of Sid Gillmans vertical offense

Craigs high knee kick brutalized tacklers!

Why isn't Roger in the HoF?

@Damien Jones never heard of such thing??

What teams run it today?

​@Jay Thompson i mean both offenses have west coast base concepts but are two very different variations of it chiefs is more to use the timing of the system on vertical routes and having the halfback to be more or less the primary read if the deep shot isn't there which is more of bill walsh's offense influence now blocking and the quaterbacks ability is what separtes he shanahan west coast offense relies on the running scheme and timing of blocks to open the run game and create holes for a running back with elite quickness can exploit

@Jay Thompson dont have to be a dick just was giving some in depth info

@@MakaveliRaiderYou watch football or what?

@@reivang7196 not that much.

Agreed Tom Brady.

Yeah, plus Cincinnati is where it originated

The West Coast Offense started in Cincinnati and then Walsh goes to SF and gets to stick it to Cincinnati not once but twice in the SB!

John Unitas invented it. Bill Walsh named it.

Parcels calls it West Coast in a playoff interview....the rest is legend.

*however

+David Mazzini Deity*

+JaLomangino lol ,thanks,grammar has never been my strong suit,a God not a go who diets freequently

+David Mazzini *guy,it's this Samsung

I'll always be a Don Shula fan, but I agree Mr. Walsh was a genius. Maybe it helps that I'm a SF Giants fan from Mass. Been a fan since John Montefusco.

Ya, now they look like they just got outta bed lol

1burnman Lombardi?

@@Raboon1062 Lombardi haha shit

Lombardi is the greatest coach it’s no contest

Dennis Williams Yep. Parcells' defenses were game planned defenses. That 3-4 they ran was a beast. Had the 86 Giants played the Bears that year?! OH MY GOD,the Bears probably would've repeated as Super Bowl Champions

Matt Beeman Yep.I think the 86 Bears ran a 4-3 Over front with some 46 sprinkled in after Buddy Ryan left to coach Philadelphia. Both the Bears & Giants finished 14-2 that season & I think the Bears had the #1 defense while the Giants had the #2 best defense

Matt Beeman Found the defensive team stats from the 86 season: Bears #1 total, #2 vs.pass & vs.the run #16 in points allowed The Giants #2 total, #19 vs.the Pass #1 vs.the run #21 points allowed

Craig Smith II the 1986-87 Chicago Bears were #1 in points allowed not #16 giving up a then NFL single 16 game season record of only 187 points (since surpassed by the 2000-01 Baltimore Ravens defense which still holds the current record of allowing only 165 points in a 16 game regular season).

Those Giants defenses held the 49ers to 6 points total in the playoffs in 85-86. From 1984-1986 they met 5 times including the playoffs, SF scored a total of 3 points total in the 2nd half of those games

So why didn’t YOU? Did you not give it your all?

@@TL2354 Injury's, trades, blown calls, etc... Why you automatically think its not giving it your all? That kind of assuming dumb none thought out suggestion is what gets you a smart ass remark like "your just being a hater". Come with something else besides hate.

@@mfl8276 and yet y’all have 5

And the last two we went to that we lost damn we would have a lot😂

Completely different and unrelated offenses. Vertical game was typified by the bomb and deep passing to stretch vertically. West Coast offense is based on shorter passes that spread the field horizontally, relying on run after the catch and long drives. Both great offenses but very very different

DangeRoss is correct. You look at the vertical game it was all downfield long passes. The West Coast was used, if you watched this, as a necessity because Virgil Carter could not go vertical so they used small pass plays that eventually would get the yards but also mess with defensive timing because the passes came out so quick. But you did bring up the word "precursors" which is fitting because of small passing plays it set up LaMonica to throw those bombs.

Not true. Davis liked long passes and quick scores, that's why he chose Lamonica as his quarterback. He never liked Stabler as a quarterback because his didn't have a strong arm.

Guillermo Sanchez I said "precursor". Of course it's not the same.

Bill Walsh worked for the Raiders in 1966 as the running backs coach and credited Davis for many innovations. Davis made sure to have scramble drill rules and how a play would develop late when it breaks down. Nobody else was doing that. The game changes slowly over the years, but sitting here in 2017, it is easy to look back and simplify ideas.

Your right. He absolutely did . Walsh saw it as an assistant in Cinncy and named it. Ask Tom Matte he will fight you over it.

@Damien Jones True but young Unitas was not a west coaster yet. Older post Eubank was when his deep ball went cold yes. Him and Don McCafferty came up with the scheme now called west coast offense. Ask any Baltimore Colt still alive who played with him. It's true. Short passes.3 step and two step drops and heavy on the tight end finding the seam in zone coverages.

@Damien Jones The west coast was originally Baltimore's 2 minute offense devised by Don McCafferty and Unitas. As Unitas skills grew weak as he aged it became the main offense in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Ask Tom Matte. Ask Danny Sullivan Ernie Accorsi Dick Sysmanski Lenny Moore ask anyone alive from the 1968- 1971 Baltimore Colts. Shula didn't invent it it was the genius of Unitas and Don McCaffery. Ask Mcafferys son he's still alive. Bill Walsh was Bengals assistant and got beat by it in the 1970 playoffs. Lmao

Your right ! I saw it all go down in Baltimore as a youngster. Tom Matte tells the truth nothing against Walsh but he stole it. Its a copycat league to this day

Is This Rain? Mike or Kyle

Steve L Kyle cuz he’s the coach for the Niners now lol

And Joe was from PA.

wolfmanrick Tom Brady. Period.

I'm a Steelers fan, and Bradshaw ain't even in the top five

I will disagree because of this-if you put Steve Young or Joe Montana in the NFL today, and both of them are in their prime, they thrive. You put Brady in the NFL of the '80's, where you could still beat the shit out of the QB and get away with it, Brady lasts 3 years, maybe 4. Also keep in mind that Montana never turned the ball over in an SB. He also never intentionally grounded the ball on the first play of the game, which then leads to a safety. Remember the SB in Indy? Just a few thoughts from a Packers fan and neutral observer.

whatever , you're just saying that because joe was from western PA..

This made me laugh so hard watching clowns play Madden in such a godawful fashion hahaha.

1999 Rams were all about the West coast offense...They had the dual threat RB in Faulk and Wrs in Bruce and Holt that specialized in running after the catch.

@@michaeldelfino1800 False. Mike Martz learned the Air Coryell directly from Ernie Zampese & Norv Turner both disciples of the late great Don Coryell.

@Michael Delfino Also in the Air Coryell offense running backs such as Terry Metcalf of the St.Louis Cardinals, Lydell Mitchell, Mike Thomas, the late great Chuck Muncie, James Brooks, Gary Anderson, & finally Lionel Little Train James who had 1,000 yards receiving during the 1985-86 season for the #1 ranked Air Coryell San Diego Chargers offensive juggernaut in both points & yards joined Roger Craig that same season Marshall Faulk of the '99 Rams as the only running backs in NFL single season history to record 1,000 yards receiving. The dual threat running back wasn't just sole province of the Bill Walsh misnamed West Coast offense as running backs such as Charley Taylor, Lenny Moore, Bobby Mitchell of the Baltimore Colts & Washington Redskins who all 3 were converted to wide receivers later in their respective careers, Marcus Allen of the Los Angeles Raiders, Chuck Foreman of the Minnesota Vikings, Wilbert Montgomery of the Philadelphia Eagles, Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers, Jim Kiick, Tony Nathan of the 1970's & 1980's Don Shula Miami Dolphins, & Preston Pearson & Tony Dorsett of the 1970's & 1980's Tom Landry Dallas Cowboys were all dual threat running backs long before Bill Walsh, George Seifert, Roger Craig, Ricky Watters & the misnamed West Coast offense came to San Francisco in 1979 ijs🤷🏾‍♂️.

Ummm? Manning

Nicholas Pfarner manning played in the same system basically his whole career except his final year when he was trash

absolutely wrong. you just can't assume because he had a pretty bad seaskn doesn't mean he wasn't in a different system. manning never really had his own system he learned the in and outs of the current system he was in and he did this each time he got a new coach and he eventually was creating the offensive game plan and terminology with the coaches. his rookie season although not the best statistically he sat down with his coaches to revamp the system while most quarteebacks struggle to just learn the system. he truly was a student of the game and when your a student of the game for 30+ years and remember everything every coach taught you then your going to be able to tell your coach and offensive coordinator how to beat certain coverages, run against certain fronts, protection from the blitz. after mannings 2011 injury his right tricep never fully recover because I'm pretty sure he had damage in his nerves but his arm strength was never the same and as a result he learned to compensate by getting a stronger core and legs and instead of trying to out gun the defense he just tried to control the ball with more timing routes and plays that would open coverages up such as four very against cover looks. manning in his early years was very interesting to watch because his play action game was so good I've seen move the entire back 7 defenders with a playfake and as a result of the linebackers and even ty law biting so hard down on the fake manning would throw to a wide open Marvin Harrison or Austin collie who was a beast at the time. I'm not saying Brady is dumb but if he were to instantly get a new offensive coordinator I highly doubt he would have learned it fully like the way manning did. I knowbbrady could do it but manning did it so good he would look at it anytime he could even when he was in the hottub letting his body relax after his workout.

Nicholas Pfarner Brady had different coordinators as well not as much as manning. Sure the different coaches had different terminology but the core system was the same.

David Ruelas Sort of was. Belichick was Parcells O Coordinator

@@thepunditspundit1776 you mean d coordinator

David Ruelas Yes, my bad

@@thepunditspundit1776 no problem

The West Coast offense is a proven system that produces great results.

Back then it worked because it was just so different and new. There is not pure WCO system in the NFL nowadays. If anything is close, I would say Andy Reid's KC Chiefs play somewhat of a hybrid WCO. But more or less, it's gone now from today's NFL. It's more of a spread/air raid hybrid now. Secondaries are way too talented- bigger faster and stronger to have a pure WCO nowadays. Remember when the pistol read option couldn't be stopped 5 years ago? That was thought to be the future- so teams started to draft all these running QBs after Cam is drafted. Well NFL defenses figured it out and stopped it. Plus the read option puts your QB in great risk of being hurt.

Agreed. On the other side of the ball, offenses figured out the 46 and Chicago had one year of dominance. I can only imagine if Miami had beaten the Pats what SB 20 would have been like.

Jason Mullins Exactly- Some teams simply can't beat other teams in certain systems. For example, the Raiders couldn't beat Buffalo in the AFC championship game in the '90 season. But some say that if the Raiders were to have beat Jim Kelly's K Gun offense, the Raiders would of beaten the NY Giants. You never know. Marino and the dolphins seemed unstoppable that year. I don't know if you watched that recent '85 bears documentary before buddy died? The players on that defense claimed they would of won 3 in a row at least if certain players did not get hurt and if buddy never went to philly.

You have put me on a subject of which I have a lot of opinion. I respect San Francisco for what they did, but I don't think they would have four titles if they had to play the Giants and Redskins twice a year in the late 80s. Those two teams played a different kind of game than the 49ers. I'll admit I grew up a Skins fan, but to me, those were the dominant teams of 86-91. Gibbs and Parcells had to face each other two and sometimes three times every year. That's a different level of game than playing the Rams, Falcons and Saints of the same time.

Two things about what you said...Many of the "long" balls to RIce were actually short slants that turned into long balls. So in reality it didn't change much. Before RIce it was Freddie Solomon in that role. Freddie obviously wasn't as good as Rice but he was good and had deep speed and Montana when needed would stretch the defense by throwing long to him. But again, much of the Walsh passing was slants and outs designed to take advantage of the run after the catch--something Rice did better than anybody. Also, if Walsh had Terry Bradshaw he still would have done a similar thing since Bradshaw had some mobility. And if he didn't have enough, he would have traded Bradshaw as he got older for a QB that could. Steve DeBerg was no Bradshaw of course but he put up some great numbers under Walsh in 1979 and 1980 but he wasn't mobile and threw too many interceptions so when Montana was ready, DeBerg was traded to Denver in 1981. That's how Bill operated.

Michael Delfino Montana threw long balls to Rice. Its a fact. To bad you never saw that. Of course Montana to Rice on the slant was just about a guarantee 10 yards. Had Bradshaw in his prime played for Walsh, like Noll, Walsh would've took advantage of Bradshaws considerable talent, and the offence would have been called "The Bombs Away Bill Offence" LOL. To bad you never saw Bradshaw play.

t radar0412 Too bad I never saw that (Montana to RIce???? Are you kidding me? I;ve been a 49ers season ticket holder since 1974 (started going when I was 7). I saw EVERY one of them. I also saw a legion of very mediocre 49er QBs prior to Montana--Norm Snead, Tom Owen, Joe Reed, Scott Bull, Jim Plunket (in his 49er days he wasn't that good--blossomed with Raiders), etc...Saw my share. I didn't say Montana didn't throw long to Rice. He threw long to Rice. And he threw long to Freddie Solomon. But my point was that many of those "long" passes to Rice were also in fact 10-15 yard slants that Rice was able to out sprint the D and turn them into 80 yard plays. That's not a knock on Montana in any way. I worship the guy. My point was the play design was for it to be a 10-15 yard slant. Montana's passes were perfect and so was Jerry's routes and so was the timing and the play would end up being 80 yards. There were lots of those types of plays. Montana and Rice only played 6 seasons together. Montana was hurt in 1991 and 1992 and only played in the season finale of 1992 against Detroit. Montana had 6 seasons in the league before Rice was even there. SO yes i agree he threw long but there were also plenty of shorter plays turned into longer plays. And yes I saw Bradshaw play many times...Mostly on TV. Once in person against the 49ers--Monday night in 1978. No question he threw long too...Swan and Stallworth and others. I'm sure Walsh would have made Bradshaw even better than he was. That was no knock on Bradshaw. Walsh would have made anyone v=better. But Walsh didn't mess around...If you didn;t fit his system you were gone. And that meant anyone. My bad if that came out as a knock on Bradshaw. He was great. But no matter who he coached he still would have developed that offense eventually. No matter what it would have been ultimately called.

sounds fair if both teams have to do it

Not if they did it on purpose knowing that it would fuck up Parcells and his staffs defensive efficiency and play calling

Just a little gamesmanship *wink*

That wasn't even the worst hit from the giants he got

Not even close

corey thomas nope they achieve similar things but they actually use the “east coast offense” from the video, the Earnhardt Perkins offense. Giants, Pats, Saints, Texans and other Parcells/Belichick-related teams

corey thomas they use elements of the WCO, like most teams do. The pats also use elements of the run and shoot